Built to move

Bob Van Cura, president of A Proper Garden in Delaware, Ohio, will tell you the quickest way to become stagnant is to stand still. Which is why in his store, no fixture is “fixed.” Virtually all the garden center’s benches and borders are mobile, allowing the staff to continuously create new shopping experiences.

“This area will never look the same from season to season,” he said when I visited the store this past summer. Van Cura pointed out the rolling casters on most of the benches situated in the concrete-paved plant yard. Brick edging defining the winding paths through the yard can also be moved. “We can basically change the whole layout if we want,” Van Cura said.

Phil Schaafsma, owner of Sid’s Greenhouses (Palos Hills and Bollingbrook, Ill.), is also a fan of mobility. The store uses a lot of wooden benches in its greenhouses—some homemade; some from Bench Systems.

“Because we reconfigure our greenhouse selling space throughout the year for different seasons, we decided rather than lifting the benches, we’d put casters on all the benches,” Schaafsma said. “We love it! One lady can now move a 4-foot by 6-foot bench around with plants on it.”

For more: A Proper Garden, www.apropergarden.net. Sid’s Greenhouses, www.sidsgreenhouses.com.